The Story of Kieper and Scott.
Kieper came to me as a foster on a bitter cold day in January. He arrived in CNY on a flight from Florida, which had been canceled several times due to the bitter cold temps. I was working that day and so picked him up at the home of another foster family who had cared for him for a few hours before I got out from work. As it happens he was outside for a potty trip when I arrived. As I snuck in the gate he bounded towards me as if I was a long lost best friend! What a greeting! I fell in love with him at that moment. He was the happiest dog I had ever met, and very handsome too. To this day he greets me in the same manner, even after a 3 minute trip to the mailbox. As fate would have it his racing name turned out to be Free and Happy. I thought how appropriate that was, he had been called Happy. Withiin a few weeks it was clear to me he had found his forever home here with me. He was big, and goofy and oh so sweet! And so he became dog number 3 in my household. He was not my first foster, but he was the first I kept. That is how he got his pet name, Kieper. He was a "keeper". But then they have all been keepers in my mind, that's how easy they are to love.
Scott arrived about a month later, also as a foster. I had a terrible cold and was not feeling well at all. He arrived in the evening and was also flown here from Florida. He was grumpy and so was I. He growled at the other dogs, not anything serious, just didn't like sharing the water bowl or having any of them too close to him. In his first hours he heard "No" more than once in response to his grumpiness. He had been with the Fl. group for several months, but had been overlooked by adopters. He was male, big and black, not what adopters in that area are looking for. He had 3 strikes against him in that market area. I thought he was the most beautiful greyhound I had ever seen! However, he was quite young, playful, energetic, extremely smart and lacking in manners. I soon realized his grumpiness was all talk, and he had a spirit that one could not resist. It was an innocence that I found myself wanting to protect. He resisted crating, which is unusual for a retired racer, not unheard of but unusual. There were more things that set him apart from all the others I had fostered, some I could not put my finger on. I kept thinking, "Why is he so different?". With some investigating I discovered that he had never raced, never recieved the typical racer's training. He was leash trained and house broken and that was all. That information explained everything. I loved him as he was for who he was, impish spirit especially. I could not bare the thought that someone else might view that spirit as intolerable. And so he became dog number 4 in my household. He is no longer grumpy, has learned some manners and I can't imagine life without him. His impish and innocent spirit flourishes.
Joanne P. w/Dakoda, Shelby, Kieper and ScottA Tribute to Sage
Sage was my heart dog, my first greyhound. She was adopted on May 10, 1998,
Mother's Day. It was love at first sight. She was a shy, 4 year old red brindle of
Irish ancestory with a track name of Jay Jay's First. She was a bit of a spook and
did not take well to things out of place or anything new. A toy left on the
sidewalk, a broom or shovel on the deck, boots in the pathway or a flag flapping in
the wind would stop her in her tracks. She loved going for walks, splashing in
water, romping in leaves or chasing snowballs. However, she loved her couch best.
With a flip of her tail and an occasional lift of her head she "guarded" her couch
for 9 years, happy to let everyone come and go as they please. She was always a
Lady, sharing with and tolerating numerous other canines and felines in her domain.
She was so sweet and had such a silly grin with her tongue hanging out! ( As time
went on she had lost most of her teeth, therefore her tongue wouldn't stay in her
mouth.) She was brave and loyal and is very much missed. She passed to the Rainbow
Bridge on February 26, 2007 at the age of 13.
Sage: January 5, 1994 - February 26, 2007
Greytly missed by Grammar, Tillie, Droo, Mariah, Keri, Midgie, Gabby and Mom LindaFarrah
My first grey Farrah, literally did come to me. It was a typical morning for me, I was getting ready for the day when my son told me that there was a dog running loose across the street. We do not see too many dogs running loose in my area, so I was curious to know if someones dog had gotten away on them. I looked out my window and saw the strangest looking dog I had ever seen before. I had never actually seen a greyhound before except on television, so it was strange to see this long lanky skinny dog running around. Curiosity got the best of me so I went outside and called to her. She stopped in her tracks, perked up her ears and ran straight to me with tongue hanging out, tail wagging and a big smile on her face. I caught the tag on her and called the number that was located on it. Well come to find out she had escaped from her foster mom. Fortunately her foster mom only lived one block down from me so I grabbed a dog leash that I had and walked her down to her home. I met up with her foster mom (who was very thankful) and she told me she was up for adoption. Well, I think that did if for me. I talked it over with my family and we decided to adopt her. The rescue did a home visit and she got along great with my other animals. She was a little skittish at first of the kids, not used to the running around and screaming but she has adapted nicely, the kids do not even bother her anymore, she loves them! I have had her for 2 years and she has been a great dog. She does have her moments like all animals do (she has a squirrel fettish) but I would not trade her for anything! She was meant to be with us for the remainder of her retirement.
The TombolillosMark, Jennifer, Christian, Kenny, Bleu, Nikko, Jazz, Ted and finally Farrah!
Katie and Oliver
For two years our young daughters had begged us to have a dog. Without telling them we began to quietly research various breeds. One breed quickly rose to the top as meeting our objectives: calm and gentle disposition, social and loving, trainable, able to live in or out of city space, good with children, offer the possibility to rescue, and a dog that didn't demand that I vacuum daily. When we finally adopted our first greyhound, she met and far exceeded these hopes and expectations. When I called to let our rescue friends know that we would like a second they joked "what took you so long." In actuality it had been less than one year. Katie raced in Iowa. Katie (then 6) arrived with one caution, i.e, that she can be "bossy" with other dogs, but in foster care she had never exhibited this trait to human companions. Her former life was of a racer and after a brood mum. We watched very carefully for the "bossiness" potential because we had two small children. In short she has never shown this tendency to humans. She does hold herself to very high standards of obedience and when our numerous fosters have passed through our home she is the dog to show them the ropes and they all seem to respect her. She took to our children quickly, almost in a watchful way. Perhaps these characteristics demonstrate the motherly instinct in her. Wherever we go people remember Katie. She is loving, calm, sweet, quiet, wise, almost refined, never disobedient. Oliver was our second. Though different in temperament to Katie he is as enjoyable. Oliver raced in Florida and arrived when he was 4.Oliver is sweet and always exceedingly happy. His tail doesn't stop wagging. He is also very obedient but it has taken some training to teach him that he cannot jump when he is excited or run out the door to greet someone. However he trained quickly and easily. They both love having other greyhounds around, which allows us to foster other greyts. They still love to run and they do so daily, taking turns asking each other and often will pick up a stuffed toy and stand by the door asking to go outside and run with their "catch." Both love being near people and due to their sweet and obedient manners people who are in our home are immediately taken by them.
This is what our children have to say about them:
Our seven year old says:"When Katie came to our family I was very happy. She is very sweet and loving. I first learned I was going to have a dog when I came home from school and saw her. I didn't know we were getting a dog. She had on a blue collar. It was very exciting. Her second week here she "asked" to sleep at the foot of my bed so that's where she sleeps. Katie loves tummy rubs and my favorite thing to do with her is to cuddle with her in the morning."
"Oliver is a sweet and loving dog too and very playful. For his daily walks he often asks to carry one of his stuffed animals and he does so for the entire walk. The first I knew about him was when we decided to foster him. I didn't know we were going to keep him. We took a family vote and everyone wanted to keep him so we did. We named him Oliver. He has very big muscles. I love playing with him and running with him in the yard."
Our four year old says:"Katie is sweet. She is very gentle and loving. She sleeps in our bedroom and she plays in the yard with us. Oliver is very soft (he feels like a blanket) and also loving. I can walk both dogs even though they weigh 5 times my weight. Oliver used to pull a little and now he doesn't, not even for a rabbit."
Ozzie
During our home visit with Scott we fell in love with the idea of having a black greyhound. We knew that we couldn't pick the color but, oh. how beautiful Scott was. I fell in love with the idea of having a female, with two boys and a husband; I was starting to feel like the odd "man" out. It would be great to dress her up in pretty collars and coats. We had waited a few months for a grey and we were so excited when Joanne called to tell us our new arrival was here. HE was WHITE! It only took ten minutes of having him in our house, seeing him flop to the floor, roach with his feet up and tongue hanging out and we were in love. Ozzie has been a joy for us. Sweet, silly and loving. He has a very playful side and likes to keep himself busy while we're away. His "job" during the day is to carry the boys stuffed animals up and down the stairs individually, all 15 of them, and neatly arrange them on his bed. He has two favorites that he uses to prop his head up since he wasn't supplied with a pillow for his bed. We can't remember what life was like with out him. It really has been a life changing experience. We love to meet other greyhound owners and hear all the great rescue stories. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our next grey later this summer. This time I'm holding out for a girl!
Casey
Casey (aka Whytell's Favorite, now retired) came to me in September 2005. He hated the name Favorite which had been his call name and promptly told me his name. What a wonderful joy he is! Winnie, my beloved gordon setter accepted him right away and gently showed him how things were done in our house. She showed him that walks in the early mornings were best, weather didn't matter and all the other little things that go on during the day from where to nap to what time dinner is served. He has since carried on her legacy, showing the fosters we get from time to time the ropes of transitioning from track to home. It took him six months to fully make the transition into his new environment and each day just adds more pleasure. He enjoys playing outside for hours with his friend Lola. Together they teach other greyhounds that play is good. Out of all the things that he enjoys doing, he likes the car rides to the lake the best, right after chasing squirrels. Every outing with Casey becomes a one dog meet and greet. There isn't anything or anybody he doesn't like!
Janet H.